Exploring the Lake District

If you are looking for a place to have a little holiday in the UK, then I couldn’t recommend the Lake District enough. It is somewhere that we have been to several times in the last few years, and have found new things to do each time, as well as new places to eat and different experiences; there is something for everyone.

I have had a few people ask me how the Lake District is with children, because, isn’t there only things like hiking that you can do there? And while there are a lot of places to hike and walk, there are plenty of other things to see and do too, making it really easy to visit there with children (I have written about that before). But from our recent trip, I thought I would share a few pictures and a vlog, to talk you through our itinerary. We discovered a lot of new places to visit this time around.

The weather was a bit hit and miss, but we had such a fun time; I am always amazed at just how much my two love to be outdoors. Honestly, if you are thinking of planning a trip there, then just do it! Please feel free to ask me for recommendations, this is the third time that we have been in four years, so I hopefully can help.

Day One

If you are planning a trip the the Lakes, then getting a National Trust membership is a must. There are many car parks that mean you don’t have to pay when you have membership, as well as quite a few different spots to visit. One of the ones that we chose to visit was Hill Top, which is the home of Beatrix Potter. You can see inside the home, that is pretty much left as she left it, and there are quite a lot of gardens to explore (with some major Peter Rabbit vibes). The village that it is located in, Near Sawrey (close to Hawkshead), is really cute too, and there a few things that you can spot, that were inspiration for the stories.

We also made the most of our membership and went to Wray Castle too – it is really stunning, with huge grounds, and a little walk right by it, that takes you down to Lake Windermere.

Day Two

The second day started off pretty rainy, so we headed to one of the closes cities (Lancaster) to go and see the new Aladdin movie – well worth it, we all loved it. But in the afternoon the sun came out, so on my mum’s recommendation, we went to Aira Force (another National Trust site / car park).

The kids love anything waterfall related and having some rocks to climb over. There were stepping stones, walks, and stunning views. You could spend ages here, or equally, only a small amount of time; up to you. After that, we headed down to nearby Ullswater Lake for a play.

Day Three

If you want to try some classic Lake District fodder, then heading to the small town of Grasmere is a must. It is quaint and cute, with plenty of walks in the area. There are shops and restaurants, as well as the grave of William Wordsworth; the village’s most famous former resident.

Heading to one of the world’s smallest shops is where you can get the famous Grasmere gingerbread, which is honestly amazing. A must if you are in the area; make sure that you stock up!

Day Four

This was the day for our first ‘proper’ hike, so we were ready with out backpacks, plenty of water, some protein snacks, in our Millets backpacks, with waterproofs just in case, and we were good to go. We got quite a few of our outdoor gear from Millets; it is definitely a go-to.

Honestly, my children amaze me when the hike, they did so well. We did go a little off-piste, but it made it pretty fun!

Day Five

It seems like it is becoming a bit of a tradition now, that every time we head to the Lake District, we have to rent a boat out on Lake Windermere. It is one of the busiest parts of the Lake District, but out on the lake it is obviously much quieter and you can take it all in. So pretty, and was our best day, weather-wise.

Day Six

Our last day was another hiking one, this time, ‘The Old Man of Consiton’ route, which was pretty exhilarating. There are different routes to take, so we took the more child-friendly one. But you can take a route around the old copper mines, and there are caves and tunnels to explore, so is great for something a little different.

Have you ever been to the Lake District before? It would be great to hear what you think.